SCHOLAR RESPONSES:

What leadership roles or volunteer experiences have been important to you during your time at Maryland?

My favorite experiences at Maryland (so far!) have been with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Catholic Terps. I am currently on the executive board of the University of Maryland ASCE Chapter, and have been an active member for three years, especially with the ASCE Concrete Canoe Club Executive Board and race team. I volunteer regularly with the Catholic Terps service committee and served as the Fall Retreat Director. In the Clark School, I love being a Mentor Coordinator in the Successful Engineering Education Development and Support Program (SEEDS), and I am a proud alumna of both FLEXUS and the Global Communities Living and Learning Programs.

What has your scholarship meant to you and how has it enabled you to pursue new and exciting opportunities?

In my career, I plan to design and build infrastructure that improves the quality of life for people. I aspire to serve the global community in which we live, and dream of developing infrastructure in cities, neighborhoods, and intersections that need it the most. I am determined to become a civil engineer, and scholarships enable me to make the most of my education and my time at the University of Maryland. I cannot express the depth of my gratitude receiving these scholarships. I am the oldest of four children in my family, and I often find myself worrying about securing the funds to finance my education, especially since I decided to study abroad in the Spring 2016 semester. I will always continue learning about new people, cultures and exploring the world, but to do this while studying engineering internationally has been such an exciting and unique opportunity! Thank you for supporting my education, and for your generosity investing in the next generation of engineers!

Why did you choose to attend the University of Maryland, what makes this place special to you and what is your favorite part of being a Terp?

When I was a child, we lived in a small house, and I always promised my mother that I would grow up one day and build her a house with 18 bathrooms. I always thought I wanted to be an architect, but in high school, discovered that I really had always wanted to be the one designing and building the structures: I just didn't know that was called civil engineering. When choosing to pursue my civil engineering degree at the University of Maryland, I had one big deciding factor: the people. UMD not only has one of the top engineering schools in the nation, but also an incredibly tight knit, supportive, and diverse community. The experience of being a Terrapin extends so far beyond the classroom, and it does not take long to discover this in your freshman year. All of the incredible and bright individuals I am privileged to work, laugh and grow with make the University of Maryland special to me.

Tell us about your favorite class, extracurricular activity, academic opportunity, community involvement or another unique experience.

Thinking back to my freshman year of college, it’s hard to imagine what my time at the University of Maryland would be like without the strong presence of the American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter. The lessons I have learned from my participation in ASCE the past two years have guided my college experience. I joined the Concrete Canoe race team as a freshman, and served on the executive board of the club in my sophomore year. Our team's ultimate goal, to win first place at our regional competition, would qualify us for the National Concrete Canoe competition. This is a feat that had not been accomplished at the University of Maryland since 2003. We began working on testing more than 40 mix designs in September, and we expended more than 3,600 hours throughout the year on this project, culminating in April at the regional competition. Through the long nights in the lab, I couldn’t help but think of the dedication of the 2003 Concrete Canoe Team, and what it must have taken for them to reach the National Competition. I never lost hope that with hard work we too could do Maryland proud. As the Principal Architect on the Executive Board, I led the Aesthetics team in creating a Final Product display table, stands for the canoe, a cut-away cross section, and painting the actual boat. With great patience and commitment, we created the most breathtaking Final Product at our regional competition, and accordingly our Preakness-themed canoe, Seabiscuit, won First Place in the Mid Atlantic Region! We achieved our goals, together as a team, and the University of Maryland competed at the 2015 National Concrete Canoe Competition, in Clemson South Carolina, for the first time in 12 years. I am so very proud to be a part of this team.

Seeing my designs come to life, and sharing in that victory with my teammates was unforgettable. When I walked to the podium at Regionals to receive our award for first place Final Product, I realized how I could not have done it alone. Leadership is about the people. It's about the relationships we can build with the people we lead, and the people who look to us for knowledge, advice, support, and kindness. It's about the people who are ready to make their dreams a reality. Growing and learning this lesson through leadership in Concrete Canoe and ASCE has been the most important part of my college career thus far, and resulted in my greatest accomplishment. Learning how to celebrate triumphs and overcome challenges with my ASCE family inspired me to serve on the 2015-2016 ASCE Executive Board as the Webmaster, and plan to assume an even higher role of leadership and organize the next Mid Atlantic Regional Student Conference, which will be hosted by the University of Maryland.

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